Microsoft continued to talk about the Xbox 360's impending live TV functionality last week. One possibility we've heard is that the company will team up with cable and satellite companies to allow the system to essentially be used as a cable/set top box replacement. According to a new report, deals with Comcast and Verizon may soon be reached for just that.
Both deals could be made within the next month, reports Digiday (via Kotaku), although it's also been told that the timing isn't quite so definitive. Regardless, it sounds as if this could be similar to what's already possible on an Xbox 360 for AT&T Uverse customers, though we don't really know any of the particulars of what the Comcast and Verizon deals would entail. It seems highly likely that Kinect would be involved, as well as support for Bing and voice search.
Digiday suggested we could see deeper programming guides, Kinect support, and better targeted advertising, all of which fits in with the sort of features we've heard before. There's some doubt over whether this course of action -- being a substitute cable box with bonus features -- is even worth it, as some might view the prospect as pointless.
"Is there anything Microsoft is doing that hasn't been done by other providers? No, not really," said Gartner analyst Van Baker last week. "Search is not discovery. Search as an answer to discovery implies you know what you're looking for. Most people have no idea what they're looking for."
Even if the deals are soon reached, it doesn't mean the functionality would be implemented immediately. A dashboard update is expected later this year that will add the aforementioned Bing support, as well as the ability to watch UFC and YouTube videos on the system, a redesigned user interface, and more.
In addition to the Comcast and Verizon deals, Digiday indicated that Microsoft is working with TV manufacturers such as Samsung to incorporate "some sort of Window[s] Live gaming hub into Samsung TVs, which would be accessible with a basic Web connection." With Windows 8 going to support Xbox Live, you can bet such a thing would connect with Live as Microsoft looks to broaden Xbox Live's horizons further beyond the Xbox consoles themselves.
Source: http://www.1up.com/news/xbox-36-verizon-comcast-cable-box
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